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Lobbying has nothing to do with free market.
by mike_ivanov 5y ago
Lobbying has nothing to do with free market.
- AlexandrB 5y agoThat's a weird thing to say considering how lobbying is justified: As the free expression of speech by companies towards their elected representatives. So is limiting corporate speech necessary for a free market? Most free-market backers I've heard would say otherwise.
- nybble41 5y agoLobbying consists of influencing either elected officials or bureaucrats to take actions on the lobbyists' behalf which no actor in a free market would be permitted to take. What needs to be limited here is not corporate speech but rather government power.
- vkou 5y agoThis kind of lobbying is just paid free speech driven by market incentives. So, yes, having a society-critical service provided by a for-profit market actor, that then uses that money to pay for speech that results in a worse situation for everyone is a market failure.